Hanger for electrical cables.



. PATENTED JULY 3-0, 1907. R. s. PEIROE.

HANGER FOR ELECTRICAL GABLES.

APPLIUATION FILED FEB. 27, 1905.

566; 17111670507"! A flbgoz afw THE NORR 5 PETER:; CO W H N N RALPH S.PElRCE, OF CHICAGO, ILLINOIS.

HANGER FOR ELECTRICAL CABLES.

Specification of Letters Patent.

Patented July 30, 1907.

Application filed February 27, 1905. $erial No. 247,489.

To all whom it may concern:

Be it known that I, RALPH S. Pnrncn, a citizen of the United States ofAmerica, and a resident of Chicago, county of Cook, and State ofIllinois, have invented a new and useful Improvement in Hangers forElectrical Cables, of which the following is a specification.

My invention relates to cable hangers, by which cables, usuallylead-covered, are hung from supporting strands usually steel cables,which in turn are suspended from poles or other suitable structures.

My invention relates particularly to a type of cable hanger whichemploys asection of marline cord or rope to engage the cable, this beingprovided with some form of metallic hook or clip for engaging thesupporting strand or messenger wire, as the latter is termed inpractice. I

In the type of marline hanger widely used at the time of my invention, ametallic hook, of galvanized iron wire was provided, from an eye in thebottom'of which was suspended a loop of marline. The method of applyingthe marline to the cable to be supported,and the hook to the supportingmessenger wire, consisted in first looping the marline around the cableand afterwards as the cable was being slid into place, engaging the hookover the messenger wire. This type of hanger has universally involved aknot in the marline, since a closed loop was necessary and it was notpracticable to manufacture marline cheaply in closed loops without theknot. This knot formed an item of expense in the manufacture of hangersof this type, since it has not been found generally practicable toemploy machinery for making it. Again, the presence of a galvanized ironhook was objectionable on account of the comparatively short life ofthis material when suspended in aerial work. It is possible to sothoroughly galvanize iron that it will last for many years, but thedifficulty has been present in hooks for cable hangers that if the hookswere bent about the supporting strand so as to prevent accidentalslipping off, the galvanizing would be cracked, thus rendering the ironof the hook liable to serious deterioration. The sliding of the hookalong the supporting strand during the erection of the cable, has beenfound often to so impair the coat of zinc on the hook as to greatlyshorten the life of the hook. It may be stated that in general, the lifeof the galvanized iron hooks in the marline hangers is very much shorterthan that of the marline itself.

My invention is particularly directed to overcoming the objectionablefeatures in marline hangers, and is illustrated in the accompanyingsheet of drawings in which,

Figure 1 shows a complete hanger of improved form, supporting a shortsection of cable from a steel cable or messenger wire directly above it;Fig. 2 shows the parts of my hanger before putting them together; Figs.3, 4, and 5 show the steps in the assembling of my hanger,

and Fig. 6 shows a modified form of hanger coming within the generalscope of my invention.

In the figures, 1 is a piece of marline. This consists of a piece ofthree-ply hemp rope or twine thoroughly impregnated with tar or othercompound to make it practically weather-proof.

In putting my invention into practice, I prefer to use marline, sincethis is at present the best form of flexible supporting cord known, butit is obvious that any flexible cord if of suitable strength .andweather-resisting properties, might be used without departing from thespirit of my invention.

The two ends of the piece of marline are fastened togetlier by beingclamped within a tube 2 of metal, preferably of zinc, which tube servesthe double purpose of binding the ends of the marline firmly together soas to form a closed loop, and also of providing a wearing surface toengage the supporting strand or messenger wire 3.

The general form of the zinc tube 2, after the hanger has been completedisshown in Fig. 1, and in the several stages of its manufacture in Figs.2, 3, 4 and 5 The hanger in this form, being manufactured -in the formof a closed loop, cannot be applied to the cable or to the messengerwire without first passing the end of the cable or the messenger wirethrough the loop. When in place, the U shaped tube of zinc 2 rides onthe supporting strand 3, while the cable 4 hangs below,

being supported by the marline. The piece of marline passes twice aroundthe cable, as clearly shown. In another application filed by me, SerialNo. 247,490 February 27, 1905, I am showing the method used andapparatus required in applying these hangers to the messenger wire andto the cable; the present application is devoted to the hanger itself.

The structure of my preferred form is advantageous over the old types ofmarline hangers in many respects; one of these is, that having no knotin the marline, the entire hanger may be assembled by automaticmachinery, no manual labor being required. A still greater advantage isin the absence of iron or steel from the metal part of the hanger, withthe consequent gain in life of this part. The absence of an open hook isalso a material advantage, in that after the hanger is once applied,there is no possibility of the hook slipping off of the messenger wireand allowing the corresponding portion of the cable to remainunsupported.

In Fig. 6, I have shown a modified form of my invention which does notpossess the advantage of a closed loop for embracing the messenger wire,since an open hook is used instead. In this modified form the marline 1is embraced at its end by a tube 2, preferably of zinc, this beinghowever, formed in the shape of a hook, as shown in Fig. 6. In thisstructure the two ends of the marline project from the same end of thetube 2, thereby leaving the other end free to slip over the messengerwire 3. This form of hanger is used.

in substantiallythe same manner as the old marline hanger and hasmaterial advantages over it, due chiefly to the greater lastingqualities of the zinc hook and to the cheapness of manufacture.

The form of hanger shown in Fig. 1 can not be applied to acable atintermediate points after the cable is suspended. To make possible thereplacing of a hanger at an intermediate point on a cable, should onebreak or prove delective, I may use a similar form to that shown in Fig.1, but one in which the marline is in two pieces, rather than in aclosed loop, as would be the case if the loop of marline 1 were cut onthe line 5 in Fig. 2. In this case the two ends would be left longenough to tie by hand after the hanger had been put in place over themessenger wire and the marline passed twice around the cable. Anotherway of applying hangers at intermediate points on the cable is ofcourse, to use the modified type shown in Fig. 6.

I do not wish to limit myself in all respects to the exact constructionhere shown and described.

What I claim as new and desire to secure by United States LettersPatent, is:

1. In a hanger for electrical cables, a piece of weatherproof flexiblecord for surrounding said cable and a noncoi'rosive metallic clipbinding the ends of said cord together, said cord being thus held in aclosed loop, said clip forming a part of. said loop. and holding theends of said cord together, and said clip being curved to properlyembrace the supporting wire from which the cable is to be suspended,substantially as described.

2. In a, hanger for electrical cables, a closed loop composed of twoparts, the first of said parts being formed of flexible materialsuitable for contact with the surface of the cable, the second of saidparts being formed of a non-abrasive material suitable for contact withthe messenger wire supporting said cable, and both of said parts beingof weather-resisting materials, substantially as described.

In a hanger for electrical cables, a closed loop formed of two parts,one of said parts being suitable for contact with the cable and theother of said parts being suitable for contact with the supportingmessenger wire, the entire closed loop being adapted to suspend a cablefrom a messenger wire by including both the cable and the messenger wirewithin the closed loop, substantially as described.

4. In a hanger for electrical cables, a closed loop con sistingthroughout the greater portion of its length of a flexible cord adaptedto pass around the cable to be sup-' ported. a tube of Weather-resistingmaterial binding the ends of said flexible cord together to form aclosed loop and Forming in itself a portion of the length of said loop,said tube being curved to embrace the strand from which said cable issupported, substantially as described.

5. In a hanger for electrical cables, a closed loop of flexible materialadapted to pass around the cable and the messenger wire supporting thecable, and a metallic sheathing for that portion of said closed loopwhich con tacts with the messenger wire and adapted to prevent contactof the messenger wire with the flexible material of the closed loop,substantially as described.

(i. In a hanger for electrical cables, a metal tube curved to embrace asupporting strand, and a flexible cord sup.- porting a cable, the two.ends of said cord lying side by side within said metal tube and beingclamped together by said tube to form a closed loop, substantially asdescribed.

Signed by me at Chicago, county of Cook, State of lllinois, in thepresence of two Witnesses RALPH S. PEIRCE.

Witnesses CHARLES I. Conn, .I. M. HAMLIQTON.

